Terrorism can hurt a nation in multiple ways. Bomb blasts and grenade attacks don’t just maim or kill the innocent, they also leave the entire society wounded. It changes the way we think, alters the way we spend our daily lives; more so, if the violence is inspired by a fundamentalist ideology which seeks to control all sinews of human life: whether girls going to school, or the clothes they wear, or anybody listening to music.

Sport is also one of the biggest casualties of conflicts. Prolonged bloodletting not only destroys the social and administrative infrastructure required for sustaining sports, it also changes the way youth reflect and behave. Role models change. So does the very idea of accomplishment. Just take a look at the sporting graphs of countries engaged in ruinous wars. They are in free fall.

Against this backdrop, Pakistan’s recent performance in cricket is an exception. For a country that hasn’t played a home game since 2009, they have produced a string of remarkable showings – the latest being the 2-1 ODI series win against India. Despite being ravaged by terrorism, Pakistan continues to produce quality cricketers, especially pacemen, who are good enough to draw applause even from rivals.

Statistics collated by the South Asian Terrorism Portal show that since 2008, the combined fatalities caused by terrorist-related violence have never dipped below 6,000 annually. Incredibly, in 2009, the year terrorist-related violence reached an all-time-high with 11,704 fatalities, the country also won the T20 World Cup.

There is something untutored and unpredictable about Pakistani cricket that’s both exciting and alluring. Nothing illustrates this better than Junaid Khan, the strapping 23-year-old bowler from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan’s northwestern region. Few know he played domestic cricket as a teenager for Abbottabad, the strife-torn city where Osama bin Laden was killed. The spectacle of a fast bowler making top-order batsmen dance to his tune is one of the most riveting sights in cricket. And even the most passionate Indian fan would admit that’s exactly what Junaid did to Team India’s batters.

Junaid isn’t alone. Mohammad Irfan, the tallest cricketer ever to play internationally, impressed most observers during his recent India visit. Wahab Riaz had Indian batsmen befuddled during the 2011 ODI World Cup. And don’t forget two world-class pacemen, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, who are lost to cricket at the moment following their involvement in spot-fixing.

Pakistani bowlers are also the best innovators in world cricket. The famed duo of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis took the art of reverse swing to another level. Doosra was invented by offie Saqlain Mushtaq and now the almost-unplayable Saeed Ajmal has conjured the teesra.

Even the lack of home matches seems to have hardly affected the Pakistan team. Since March 2009, when a bus carrying the Sri Lankan team was attacked, no national team has come calling. Even Bangladesh, who had bravely declared their desire to tour there, backed out last month. Yet the country seems to have taken the absence of international cricket in its stride. They have not only played their home games in the Middle East but also won most of their encounters.

The Pakistanis made their mark in the only IPL they were invited to. Sohail Tanvir played a key role in the unlikely triumph of Rajasthan Royals in the first edition. Since then, they have been unwelcome for the multimillion-dollar T20 shindig. One doesn’t know the exact reason behind the policy. Is it because they have a dubious reputation? Or is the reason political? The truth is, Indian cricketers would have gained a lot playing against them. One wonders whether Junaid Khan would have been easier to negotiate for the Indian batsmen if he had played in the IPL. Doesn’t matter anymore, though. Pakistan is having the last laugh.

DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.

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Avijit Ghosh is a senior editor at The Times of India, Delhi. Born in Agartala, he grew up in the small towns of Bihar and Jharkhand: Dumka, Giridih, Arrah and Ranchi. He is addicted to films, music, cricket and football and has written three books: a novel titled, Bandicoots in the Moonlight, and two works of non-fiction: the award-winning Cinema Bhojpuri, and, more recently, 40 Retakes: Bollywood classics you may have missed. He tweets irregularly from the handle @cinemawaleghosh

Avijit Ghosh is a senior editor at The Times of India, Delhi. Born in Agartala, he grew up in the small towns of Bihar and Jharkhand: Dumka, Giridih, Arrah . . .